


The Truth Behind The Flowers

by strangledleaf



Category: Lara Croft - Fandom, Reboot Lara Croft, Tomb Raider (2013)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fictional Disease, Flowers, Hanahaki Disease, Lara & Sam in another gay fanfic woop woop, ultimate lesbians and you can't stop me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-05-15 14:35:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14792333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangledleaf/pseuds/strangledleaf
Summary: Sam suffers from a fatal disease as a result of her unrequited love for Lara. Attempting to keep it a secret, the girls' relationship begins to fall apart when Lara finds out. However, secrets from both of the girls are revealed along the way and neither of them are sure if they can really handle the truth.





	1. First

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work in this fandom on AO3 and I'd like to thank my friends over on Twitter for supporting me! This work might turn out to be a slightly short story, but I will be posting longer works in the future. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

Sam leant over the toilet bowl, gripping the sides firmly in an attempt to alleviate the current physical stress her body was undergoing. The pounding in her head clouded her thoughts; but she couldn’t think much anyway.

They were back.

The flowers.

Contrary to what one might think, ‘the flowers’ weren’t a bouquet of a certain arrangement of flora that caused Sam to feel like her organs were being upturned and ready to hurl into the toilet bowl any minute. Rather, they were the result of a terribly dangerous disease.

The Hanahaki disease.

Sam had first noticed something strange after she’d first met Lara. She’d begun to suffer from coughing bouts – and over time they got worse. Being a perfectly healthy woman all her life, Sam was confused as to why this had suddenly started. Thinking it was perhaps a weird disease from Britain she’d somehow never encountered, Sam made it her mission to try avoid Lara on occasion. However, Sam began to miss Lara incredibly – which somehow made the coughing worse. It would cause Sam to stay up all night and therefore get little sleep, all the while feeling like her lungs were about to burst.

Soon, she began to cough up flower petals – often coated in a thick, congealed pool of her blood. It was only until a few months later, after the pair had moved in together for their final year of Uni, that Sam finally realised what it was. Her sickness had gotten worse with every passing month, soon causing Sam to spend hours hunched over the toilet bowl, clutching her stomach in agony.

The Hanahaki disease was one resulting from a case of unrequited love. Flowers would begin to grow in the lungs, causing the sufferer to cough up petals covered in their own blood. The flowers would eventually grow bigger and bigger, soon suffocating the victim and, inevitably, killing them. At first, it had frightened Sam to think that this could, quite literally, kill her. But after some quick digging around on the internet behind Lara’s back, Sam found the only two cures of the fatal disease.

The first cure was surgery, to remove the flowers. This was rather risky, but would result in the victim being able to live a normal life again. However, along with the flowers, the feelings would disappear too.

The second cure was for the unrequited love to become requited, e.g. Lara would have to fall in love with Sam.

But Sam wasn’t sure if that was ever going to happen.

‘Hey, Sam – you in there?’ The sudden noise startled Sam, causing her to jolt and nearly fall backwards on her haunches.

Wiping her mouth, she took a shaky breath and tried to make it sound like she wasn’t being sick repeatedly. ‘Uh – yeah, I’m…fine.’ But as much as she tried, she couldn’t hide the shakiness in her voice. Sam cursed internally; Lara couldn’t find out about this. There was a small sigh from the other side of the door, and a pause. Sam held her breath, listening intently to see what Lara would say.

‘Sam, can I come in? Please?’ She pondered letting her friend in. Letting her know everything. But it would be too difficult to explain. Not that Sam wanted to in the first place.

‘Please?’ Lara’s beg resounded again, filling the air with its whimpering tone. Eyeing the blood coating the inside of the toilet bowl and the red stains on the seat, Sam inhaled briefly before replying. ‘Okay. One sec.’

Reaching for some antibacterial wipes (Sam had turned Lara into a toilet-seat-phobe after describing, in detail, the different types of bacteria found on the average toilet seat and their affects on the human body during a particularly boring ride to a meeting one time), Sam hurriedly cleaned up the stains and flushed the toilet a couple times to get rid of the incriminating evidence. ‘Now you can.’ Inhaling sharply yet again, Sam fixated her eyes on the floor as the door opened.

‘Sam…what’s been going on?’ The worry was evident in Lara’s voice. ‘W-what do you mean? Nothing’s wrong. I probably just ate something weird.’ ‘Well, you’re going to have to check what you’re eating if this is happening every fucking day. It’s not healthy.’

No response.

Sam kept her gaze focused on the tiles; studying a dropped sliver of (clean) toilet paper intently. ‘The patterns on toilet paper are really interesting, you know,’ Sam responded – partly to try dodge the question, and partly because she really was fascinated by the artwork.

‘Sam!’ Lara groaned, breathing heavily through her nostrils. She could hear Lara shift her position and quickly realised that the archaeologist was now leaning directly next to her – and a slight turn of her head would result in full view of Lara’s muscular arms.

A sudden choke occurred in Sam’s throat at the thought, and she could feel the blood-covered petals ebbing to come out of her throat. _Not now_ , Sam thought, and with a disgusted wince, she swallowed them back down. Feeling a sudden sharp pain in her chest at the refusal to expel the flowers from her body, Sam couldn’t help but gasp loudly.

‘Sam? What’s going on – are you okay?’

‘Yeah, yeah-’ Before she could finish her sentence, a large burst of petals came flowing out of her throat, splashing into the toilet along with the waterfall of blood. Panting and gasping for breath, Sam didn’t realise Lara was still there until she spoke – sending her stomach into a twisted knot of anxiety.

‘Sam…is that _blood_?’


	2. Second

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a minor detail for this chapter: Richard Croft is heavily believed to be dead, but it hasn't been confirmed. Lara, being the stubborn girl she is, refuses to accept that, leading to her going on a variety of adventures (post-Yamatai) to try find out if he's still out there - all to no avail.

Sam ransacked her brain for an excuse – any excuse. ‘No, it’s not blood…it’s ketchup,’ Sam muttered weakly. ‘I put too much on my food earlier.’

She swore she could almost hear Lara’s eyes rolling. And if anyone knew the sight of blood well, it was Lara.

‘You barely eat ketchup, Sam. That’s the worst lie I’ve ever heard.’

She still couldn’t bring herself to even glance at Lara’s face, but she didn’t want to face the spectacle in the toilet bowl either – so she simply shut her eyes, breathing heavily through her nose in an attempt to calm herself down.

‘Sam, what’s going on? Why haven’t you told me this?’

‘I – I didn’t want to worry you.’ Her reply came back, strained and quiet.

‘Well, this is causing me more worry than if you’d told me before. I don’t know what the fuck’s going on and maybe if I’d known, then-’

‘Maybe you _don’t_ need to know everything!’ Sam snapped. Her throat was still pained and her voice broke at parts; but her tone was clearer than ever.

‘Maybe you don’t need to police and defend me all the damn time, Lara. Ever since Yamatai, you’ve been way too overprotective and haven’t let me do _anything_.’ Sam knew deep down, she loved the fact that Lara was soft only for her, and she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

But she couldn’t take back her words now – and she certainly wasn’t going to stop.

‘I can do fine by myself. I’m a grown woman, not a child. I could’ve done fine on Yamatai. I didn’t need you to save me.’

Both of them knew that was a lie. But it still stung, more than a flood of seawater in an infected wound ever could.

‘Who do you think you are, anyway? Lara Croft, the daughter who’s lost without her father and will do _anything_ to follow in his footsteps.’ Sam couldn’t stop now, the anger was streaming out of her in the form of hateful words she knew she didn’t mean.

‘Oh, I’m Lara Croft, and I’m desperate to find my dad even though he’s fucking dead but I’m just clingy and can’t accept that!’ Shouting now, Sam turned sharply to face Lara.

Their eyes locking, Sam felt her heart twist painfully as she saw Lara’s eyes filled with tears.

She’d rarely seen Lara cry before.

‘Lara, I-’ Sam began.

‘You _what_? You’ve realised what you’ve just said?’ Lara hissed, the tears falling down her cheeks. Sam so desperately wanted to wipe them away.

'No, I - well, yes, but-' Sam stammered, trying to hastily fix the situation.

‘Leave me alone,’ Lara snarled, slamming the bathroom door.

Sam jumped at the loud noise, but stayed put, tears of her own streaming down her cheeks.

\--

It was only until what seemed like hours later, Sam finally decided to move. Cleaning up the putrid mess, she finally shuffled out of the bathroom, still sniffling from the earlier events.

‘Lara?’ Sam called out softly.

Silence.

‘L-Lara, I didn’t mean that. _Any_ of it.’ Sam’s voice was quiet now, reluctant to reflect on what had happened between them. Wandering down the hall, Sam began to worry about Lara’s whereabouts.

Suddenly, Sam halted outside the guest room. Snippets of conversation could be heard, and even from a reasonable distance away from the door it was evident that Lara was distressed.

Moving closer, Sam gently pressed her ear against the door, trying not to place a lot of her weight onto it. The door was creaky and too much pressure placed upon it would reveal Sam’s eavesdropping.

‘I just…I don’t know what to do, Jonah,’ Lara’s weeping could be heard clearer now, and Sam’s stomach contorted into a knot of guilt.

‘She’s been growing more distant. And I can’t lose her, she means so much to me. She’s one of the only people I have left. I _need_ her with me, Jonah.’ Lara’s sobs grew louder, quickly causing Sam to tear up too.

Sam was desperate to unlock the door and apologise immediately for all the horrid things she’d spouted earlier, but the next few sentences almost caused Sam to retreat to the hills in an emotional mess.

‘What? No, I haven’t told her about us. I was planning to…but she always runs off to be sick before I can say anything. _Of course_ I haven’t told her about the engagement – she doesn’t even know we’re a couple! Look, Jonah, I think we’ll just have to wait to tell her. It’s too...risky, right now.’

Sam blinked, stepping back from the door. Swallowing harshly, she tried to process everything she'd just heard.

Lara was _engaged_...to _Jonah_?


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Sam finds out about Lara and Jonah's alleged engagement, she isn't sure who to trust anymore - and if Lara still even cares.

The next morning, Sam sat stiffly at the table. The girls hadn’t spoken since the altercation yesterday and after what Sam had heard about Jonah, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to. Pushing her cereal around her bowl, Sam finally moved her chair back, ready to get up. She’d lost her appetite simply thinking about Lara - for a multitude of reasons - and with each passing second, her breakfast grew more and more unappealing.

Suddenly, the door to the kitchen opened, and she halted.

‘Lara? Are you back yet?’ A deep voice rang out.

Sam clenched her fists, her knuckles growing white, gripping the spoon.

‘Hey, Jonah.’ She forced herself to take a deep breath – although her teeth were clenched shut.

‘Oh, Sam. I didn’t realise you’d be here.’ Sam realised Jonah was talking as if this apartment belonged to him and Lara.

It made her sick to her stomach even picturing them as a married couple, let alone having to deal with the possibility of it becoming a reality. ‘Well, why wouldn’t I be here? This is my apartment, after all.’ Sam attempted to add a somewhat light-hearted chuckle to the end, but it was filled with tones of betrayal. She hoped Jonah hadn’t noticed.

‘Yeah, I don’t know – I just…haven’t been here without Lara being the only one in.’ Jonah attempted to chuckle too; but it just caused the air to be bursting with awkward tension. Sam felt that was somewhat of a lie; but the thoughts of what they’d been up to while she wasn’t there filled her head.

She wanted to wash the bedsheets immediately.

The door opened yet again, and in came Lara - looking visibly tired. Lara hadn't slept in their apartment last night; instead, she went to have a rather impromptu sleepover at Jonah's. Even though Sam had been left alone last night, even after the news of their engagement - whenever she saw Lara, her chest filled with happiness. She was still glad to see her again.

'Hey, Sam. Uh - sorry for last night. Jonah needed my company; I had to go to him. Did you sleep alright?' Lara's voice croaked; and when she turned her head, Sam was sure she saw a sliver of purple marks on her neck.

It made her stomach churn.

'Yeah, I-I slept alright. You still look a bit tired; didn't you get much sleep, sweetie?'

Lara didn't look Sam in the eye, and coughed to clear her throat. 'Like I said, Jonah needed my company. So...not much.'

Sam looked over at Jonah; who just responded with a small shrug.

‘Anyway, what did you need?’ Sam stood up, plonking her bowl in the sink, turning to Jonah. Plastering a fake cheerful smile on her face, all she wanted to do was escape, to run from what could tear her relationship with Lara apart. ‘Oh, I just needed to talk to Lara about some plans.’ Jonah shifted uncomfortably, his gaze averting to the floor – and an unnerving shiver ran up Sam’s spine.

‘What plans? Can I hear of them?’ With this, Sam made a point to make eye contact with Lara; but she was looking at the floor as well. ‘Well…I mean-’ Jonah began, but he was abruptly cut off by Lara.

‘N-not yet.’ She intervened, looking back up to meet Sam’s stare.

‘I’d have thought if there was something going on, Lara wouldn’t hesitate to tell me.’ Sam tried to be snarky, but Lara quickly spun the situation around. ‘Yes, I’d have thought we’d tell each other about anything going on in our lives – especially if it was causing us _physical pain_.’ Lara glared at Sam, causing her to be the one to avoid eye contact now. _My issue is different. How can’t you tell me you’re engaged to Jonah?_ Sam thought bitterly; but made no further retaliation. She didn’t want things to become even more strained.

‘Well…uh, I think it’s best if we discussed these plans then, right?’ Jonah interrupted. Lara only nodded in response – but Sam made no attempt to move.

‘I think he meant just us two, Sam.’ Lara hissed; before moving towards their bedroom, with Jonah following suit. The door banged shut, causing Sam to flinch.

Standing by herself in the kitchen, the feeling of being alone began to creep back into her mind; the same one she felt on Yamatai; when her death seemed to be looming on the horizon and Lara nowhere in sight. Sam knew that Lara would always come back for her wherever she was on Yamatai – but now, she wasn’t so sure.


	4. Fourth

She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move; only weakly shuffle in the direction of the door.

There was no way of getting help.

Sam tried to croak Lara’s name, and even attempted Jonah’s – but to no avail.

Her lungs were filling with flowers, filling with blood. Bringing her closer to her death.

She was desperately choking for air; but nothing came out apart from more blood. There were more blood than flowers at this point, gushing out her mouth and pooling around her.

Sam hadn’t realised it had gotten this bad.

After Lara and Jonah had left her in the kitchen, she felt a sudden urge to throw up. She thought it would go away; that after a few bouts of puking she’d be fine. But she wasn’t.

Now, hunched up on the cold bathroom floor, Sam wasn’t sure if she would even stay alive much longer. Tears streamed out of her eyes and her throat burned. Her lungs felt as if they were going to burst; the pressure being inflicted on them was far too great for her body to handle for much longer.

Suddenly, she heard the front door bang.

Had she been left in the apartment _alone_?

Now there was definitely no way of getting help.

 _I’m going to die_ , Sam thought. _And Lara won’t ever know the truth_.

Her vision began to fade; and she realised that this may be it. Her heart filled with a sense of hopelessness; a sense that whatever came now, was inevitable.

 _I’m sorry, Lara_.

A large flower suddenly lodged itself in her throat, and it began to create a build up of blood, saliva, and even more flowers. Sam violently kicked her foot against the door in pain, before her body fell completely weak. She couldn’t fight it anymore.

She never could.

As the last remnants of her consciousness began to fall apart, a muffled voice could be heard from beyond the door.

‘Sam? _Oh my god_!’


	5. Fifth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam finds herself in hospital, and discovers the disease may be more than she ever realised.

Harsh, white lights.

Noise. So much noise. Mostly of voices all mixed together; a single conversation was unidentifiable.

Her head pounded. Her limbs were weak; in fact, she wasn’t even sure if she could move at all.

Her throat ached. Somehow, it wasn’t burning as painfully as before.

Sam tried to wiggle her legs; but realised they were underneath a thin blanket that seemed far too heavy to move right now.

 

Wait.

A blanket?

When did she get into bed?

No.

She couldn’t be.

 

How did she end up in  _ hospital _ ?

 

Turning her head weakly, Sam saw all manner of machines. Many were beeping away furiously; as if they were doing their best to keep her alive. 

 

Then she noticed the tubes.

 

Large, clear tubes stuck out of her torso, weaving themselves around the back of the bed and feeding themselves into the machines. Attempting to move her arm, Sam suddenly noticed a large IV jutting out. Wincing, she was glad she hadn’t been awake to witness that.

‘Sam?’ A gentle voice came. Squinting due to the light, she couldn’t work out who exactly it was.

Her eyes adjusted, and soon it became clear that the voice came from a nurse.

So she _was_ in hospital.

But...who brought her here?

The nurse stepped closer, pulling the curtain around for privacy. ‘Hello, there. I’m your nurse, Kara.’ She smiled, rather widely at that.

‘How are you feeling? You seem to be doing better physically; that’s good.’ Sam watched Kara examine the machines beside her, and take some notes down.

Kara turned, and looked expectantly at Sam for an answer.

Except she couldn’t really.

Sam opened her mouth, and attempted to speak - but all that came out was a strangled cough, which then progressed into a short coughing fit.

‘Oh - oh, dear. Well. That doesn’t sound pleasant. Either way, seeing as you’ve only been in hospital for about half a day, you’re making progress. More than we’d expect from someone in a state like yours.’

‘A-a state like mine?’ Sam finally gained the ability to croak a few words. Rather painstakingly, albeit. 

‘Yes. The disease has gotten rather serious. You - you do know why you’re here, don’t you?’

Sam nodded slowly. She couldn’t bring herself to actually mention it.

‘You’ve been diagnosed with the Hanahaki disease; although I already expect you’d realised by this point. However, it’s reached an extremely dangerous stage. Although you seem to be making a slight improvement, things could possibly become fatal if treatment isn’t received within a few weeks.’ Kara’s voice was soft; a soothing change from the sharp tones she’d been hearing from Lara so recently.

_ Lara. _

Sam gagged at the thought, ready to hurl up a bloody, flowery concoction all over the bedsheets. But this time, it began to settle down. Probably due to some medication they’ve given me, Sam thought.

‘D-did you say fatal?’ Sam rasped, adjusting herself to sit more comfortably amongst the jungle of tubes.

Kara inhaled deeply, avoiding eye contact momentarily. ‘Unfortunately, yes. You see, the flowers are beginning to implant roots in your lungs. As well as interrupting the rest of your respiratory system, if the flowers continue to grow - well...the roots begin to harden, making them difficult to remove. They then -’ Here, Kara inhaled again before continuing, ‘then end up puncturing your lungs.’

Sam sat, deathly still. 

Lara would never start to love her back; and even if she did, it wouldn’t nearly be in time to save her.

Lara was in love with Jonah, most likely with him now. Even now, even while Sam was in the hospital, Lara was probably snuggling up with Jonah on  _ their  _ couch, in  _ their _ apartment.

Doing the things  _ they’d  _ always done together.

It wasn’t Lara and Sam anymore. 

It was Lara and Jonah. 

She’d been replaced - just like that.

 

Why? Sam thought Lara would never leave her, not like this.

It was so fucking  _ stupid. _ _ all _ so  _ fucking stupid _ -

Kara’s voice interrupted Sam’s train of thought.

‘I understand that this disease stems as a result of an extremely personal issue - therefore, we let the patients choose what they feel is best. We’ve placed you on some temporary medication that slows the flower growth. It doesn’t stop the nausea as much, but you can still have more time to decide whether you’d-’

‘Take me off them.’ Sam hissed.

‘I-I’m sorry, what?’ Kara questioned, confused.

Tears began to form, but Sam desperately wanted to stop them.  She wouldn’t cry now. There was no point to.

‘Take me off the medication.  _ Now _ .’ She spat.

‘You do realise this will lead to...to the beginning of a slow, and rather excruciating, death? You’d only have a few weeks left, at best.’

‘I said what I said. Don’t give me any more of the medication. I don’t  _ care _ .’

‘Look, I don’t think you’re in the best state of mind right now; perhaps we should discuss this later?’

‘I don’t  _ care _ what you think! I care about choosing what happens to my body! I don’t want anymore of your fucking drugs because I don’t want to be here anymore! Can’t you  _ understand _ ?’

Sam’s voice cracked painfully, and her throat began to ache, worse than before.

‘W-well, I suppose if that is what you prefer.’ Kara crossed out something in her notes, before turning to leave. ‘But Sam - I will be ensuring you talk to a therapist. In case you change your mind.’

Kara pulled back the curtain, ready to leave Sam, all alone, yet again.

Suddenly, another voice rang out, not too far off.

‘ _ S-Sam?  _ Are you there?’

  
  



	6. Sixth

There, Lara stood.

Her eyes puffy, cheeks red. Voice breaking by the minute.

'Lara?' Sam called out, although it sounded more like a feeble rasp.

'Sam! Oh my god, you're okay, I-I didn't know what had happened, I was so worried - I thought you would die, oh my god - you're actually _alive_ , thank god.'  
Lara almost stumbled over to Sam's side, the tears falling down her face faster than she could wipe them away.

'I'm here, that's for sure.' Sam offered up a weak smile, to try hide the fact that she'd just had a complete meltdown.

'I-holy shit, what the fuck happened? I...I came upstairs and heard a bang in the bathroom and...there was blood coming out from underneath the door, a-and I didn't know what was going on, I really thought you were going to die, Sam, I really thought you were going to leave me with Jonah-' With each word, Lara became more and more distressed, until she was full-on sobbing.

Sam slowly extended a hand out, offering it to her.

Lara glanced at Sam's shaky gesture of support, and abruptly collapsed into Sam's side, poking herself between the tubes as much as she could without hurting her.

Soon, Lara found herself quietly hiccuping, clinging onto Sam as if she had already died. Sam weakly reached out, and rubbed Lara's back soothingly. The position wasn't exactly comfortable, but it was the closest they'd been in weeks.

Months, even.

Sam felt Lara nestle closer into her, and her heart began to swell with adoration. Lara's hair was all messed up, but still tied in that familiar ponytail. She sniffled every so often, having calmed down a great deal by now, reminding Sam of all the times Lara had gotten sick and she'd care for her. Reminding her of all the blankets they'd heap upon themselves as they hugged each other tight; Sam not caring if she got sick in return.

The only thing Sam cared about was Lara.

But it seemed to be doing more harm than good.

A wave of nausea began to wash over Sam; but it slowly began to subside. Quicker than before, she realised. 

Maybe I should keep taking the medication, Sam wondered, and apologise to Kara too.

'Hey, Lara?' Sam spoke softly.

'Y...yeah?' A small hiccup could be heard.

'What's going on with Jonah?'

Silence.

'I-I just really want to know.' Sam whispered now, hoping she hadn't ruined the moment.

'We...we're getting engaged.'

Sam stiffened. She knew, of course she knew, but she hadn't prepared herself from hearing the actual words escape Lara's lips.

'Oh.'

Lara shifted to look at Sam properly, but didn't let go of her. Her eyes were bleak, and the circles underneath were alarming.

'I'm so sorry for not telling you earlier. Really. It's just...' She trailed off.

Sam didn't speak either. She wanted an explanation and she was determined to wait until she had one.

'Things have been so strained between us, I don't know anymore. I...I care about you so much Sam. Like you wouldn't believe. I didn't know how you'd react to the news of us. And what with you being sick all the time, it...it might have been too much.'

'So you're blaming it on me, now?' Sam retaliated.

'Wh-no, that's not what I'm saying. I didn't want to hurt you furth-'

'You did. You were and you didn't even realise! You've caused me so much pain, so much suffering. If you'd told me before then that probably would have been a smarter choice. What happened to us sharing everything? You didn't even tell me you were dating Jonah. Why did you get with him in the first place?'

Lara looked away. She was staring intently at the floor.

'Lara? I'm...I'm sorry.'

No matter how hard Sam tried, Lara didn't look up at her.

Sam was about to give up entirely, and ask for a bunch of sedatives to sleep the rest of the day away, when Lara finally spoke in a hushed tone.

'I didn't want to do it, Sam.' Lara whispered, her voice breaking.

She was close to crying, and Sam so badly wanted to reach out and comfort her.

'Do...what?' Sam was confused. Did she not like Jonah? Lara was strong-willed. She'd say something to him if she didn't like how things were going.

Right?

'There wasn't any way out.' Lara's voice continued to break down until she was quietly sobbing again.

'Come here.' Sam whispered, and without missing a beat, Lara fell right back into that same position, cradling Sam but being held by her at the same time, burying herself into her neck, trying to escape from everything going wrong in both their lives.

'I can't love him, Sam.' Lara wept, gripping onto Sam like she never wanted to let go.

With each sob, Sam's heart broke a little further. She couldn't bear to see Lara like this. Her strong, beautiful, courageous Lara.

Jonah had done something to her. And Sam was going to find out what.

'If I get out of here, then we're going to tell each other everything. Sound good?' Sam stroked the back of Lara's head softly. She knew it comforted her deeply.

'Sounds brilliant.' Lara moved back up to face Sam, this time with a weak smile.

Sam smiled back too; and she swore she felt Lara lean in.

'Sam?' Lara mumbled, leaning in closer.

She swallowed nervously before responding. 'Yes?'

'I-I want to tell you something. Important.'

Sam shut her eyes, attempting to block out the rest of the hospital's noise.

'What would that be?'

'I...I really don't know what I'd do without you. Thank you, Sam.'

Sam felt Lara lean in, and gently place a kiss on her forehead, and then the tip of her nose, being careful not to move the cannula.

That night, long after Lara had been kicked out for attempting to stay longer than visiting hours permitted, Sam felt the urge to vomit again.

She felt the pain in her chest, and rushed to grab the bucket.

But this time, absolutely nothing came out.

 


	7. 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter is a little crazy. I wrote it partially inspired by one of the Endurance Week 2019 prompts, 'Nightmares'. Not as in the cliche that Sam is having a literal nightmare while sleeping; but more so that it's one of Sam's nightmares coming true: not getting answers to the truth & Lara potentially being ripped away from her. Either way, I hope y'all enjoy :)

Sam’s health had been extraordinarily improving. While only a few weeks ago she was rapidly tumbling to the brink of death - now, she was able to go a full day without vomiting; sometimes two. Her mental health was also beginning to improve; most days she barely felt anxious over Lara.

 

All this positivity was a welcome change to Sam. After years of feeling desolate and alone, finally it seemed that things were going to turn out well.

 

Lara was now a regular visitor. Each day, she’d stick her head through the curtains and stay with Sam for hours on end - sometimes seeming reluctant to leave.

 

Often, Sam noticed some marks on Lara that definitely weren’t there before. Occasionally it was a fresh scratch on her arm or a ripe bruise, just about identifiable as the grip of tight fingers.

 

But since a few days ago, Lara hadn't poked her head through the curtains. Sam hadn't heard from her whatsoever - and now, it was beginning to scare her.

 

That day, Lara had come in with one of her sleeves looking thicker than normal. Sam rarely brought any of the strange events up - she wasn’t sure how to approach the situation without the possibility of offending Lara.

 

But this time, it was almost as if Lara _wanted_ Sam to see. She’d left her sleeve unbuttoned and had gently brushed her arm against Sam’s hand; letting the fabric ride up.

 

Exposing a thick, white bandage.

 

Small hints of red were visible; not enough to cause too much alarm for any other onlooker - but enough for Sam to truly become concerned.

 

She rested her other hand atop Lara’s injured arm, her fingers delicately grazing against the edge of the bandage. Raising her eyes to look at Lara’s face, Sam finally broke the silence.

 

‘What happened?’ It was a croaky whisper, barely audible. But Sam knew Lara had heard.

 

Reluctant to face Sam, Lara looked down, almost as if she was attempting to distance herself from the situation.

 

‘Lara. Please.’

 

Sam moved her fingers to entwine them with Lara’s. ‘What’s going on? I’ve noticed all the marks you’ve been coming in with. Something’s not right.’

 

She moved her other hand to gently grasp Lara’s cheek, and tilt it towards her, causing Lara’s eyes to move up and meet her own.

 

‘It’s worrying me.’

 

Lara swallowed, before mumbling her reply.

 

‘It-it was Jonah.’

 

Sam took a moment to adjust to what she’d heard.

 

Then it all clicked.

 

Is that why Lara didn’t want to marry him?

 

Was he abusing her?

 

‘Is he hurting you?’ Sam inquired, desperate to know the full truth.

‘Y-yes.’ Lara hesitated.

 

‘Well...why are you marrying him? It’s clear you don’t want to.’

 

Lara paused. She looked as if she were to reply, but then sighed before turning away. ‘It’s a long story, Sam. I don’t have the time.’

 

That was it.

 

Sam was done with Lara evading her questions. They’d been friends for years and were close as ever, more than Lara ever had been with Jonah.

 

Now she was off, going to marry him, not having told Sam until way later - but didn’t want to be with him in the first place? _And_ he was hurting her?

 

Sam had to get to the bottom of this. Now.

 

‘Well, Lara, I don’t have the time either. My health’s been improving recently, but there’s a good damn chance I could die tomorrow. This disease is so unpredictable, it’s unbearable. And to make it worse, you’re not telling me the truth? Lara, he’s fucking _hurting_ you. You come in, everyday now, with new scratches and bruises. Even if you don’t want to leave him, you could at least tell me what the hell’s going on - before you never get the chance.’

 

Sam was breathing heavily, her nostrils flaring - glaring right at Lara.

 

‘Fine. I’m sorry for not telling you the truth. It’s...just been difficult. In ways you won’t understand.’

 

Sam scoffed. ‘It’s been difficult for _you_? Try nearly dying multiple times because the person you love doesn’t love you back. The amount of times I’ve vomited in the past week-’

 

Sam stopped.

She hadn’t vomited in the past week.

 

The past two weeks, even.

 

Not a single drop of blood had left her lips since Lara had started visiting her.

 

Wait, but-

 

No.

 

It couldn’t be, right?

 

Sam grabbed the booklet one of the nurses had given to her. Despite already having done extensive research on the disease, it was still comforting to have a booklet to refer to.

 

 _Hanahaki_ _can be_ _cured_ _through surgical removal of the plants' roots, but this excision also has the effect of removing the patient's ability to love that person. It can also be_ _cured_ _by the reciprocation of the victim's feelings._

 

Reciprocation of the victim’s feelings.

 

‘Sam, what are you doing? What’s that booklet for?’

 

Sam snapped her head up to face Lara.

 

‘I haven’t vomited a day since you came to visit me here.’

 

‘That’s...that’s great. I’m so happy for you, Sam.’ Lara shifted, looking away.

 

‘I haven’t had any surgery yet to fix the disease. That leaves only one reason left as to why I’ve been getting better.’

 

‘Oh?’ Their eyes met, causing Sam to feel a lump in her throat. Like Lara’s gaze had her transfixed; robbing her of the ability to speak.

 

'Lara. Do...do you love me?'

 

Before she had a chance to reply, the curtains were ripped apart, and in burst the man himself.

 

Jonah.

 

‘Lara! I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Why didn’t you tell me you were visiting Sam?’

 

His voice had a sinister edge to it that instantly made Sam uncomfortable.

 

‘Hey, Jonah,’ Sam called out - but was ignored. What had gotten into him? Usually he was so approachable. If he had an abusive side, he'd never shown it.

 

Until now.

 

He marched over and gripped Lara by her bandaged arm, pulling her up. ‘Come on, let’s go back - I need to have a word with you.’

 

Sam saw the wince sweep across Lara’s face.

 

She wouldn’t let him take her. Not this time.

 

‘Hey, uh, we were in the middle of an important discussion? Could you wait, Jonah?’ Sam called out, desperate for him to get his hands off her.

 

‘Well, can’t you ladies just talk about it later? Lara will be back soon enough, I’m guessing. She’s always so quick to leave,’ Jonah snarled the last bit into Lara’s ear.

 

It was as if the Lara Sam knew had disappeared completely. She wasn’t trying to fight back at all - just letting Jonah do whatever he wanted.

 

‘No,’ Sam called out. ‘Leave her alone, you’re hurting her,’ Her voice grew desperate as Jonah’s grip grew tighter and Lara let out a grunt of pain.

 

‘Please, let me go.’ Lara muttered, feebly beginning to pull her arm away.

 

‘Let _go_ of her!’ Sam yelled as Jonah dragged her away.

 

She would not let him leave.

 

Throwing her bedsheets back, Sam slid off the bed and began to limply chase after them. Although she was feeling better, she still wasn’t great at being able to use her lungs for extremely strenuous activities.

 

Jonah was dragging Lara behind him with her injured arm, attempting to leave as quickly as possible.

 

‘Lara!’ Sam called out, beginning to attract staff attention.

 

‘Sam!’ Lara yelled out. ‘I’ll come back, I promise.’

 

Suddenly, Jonah halted at her words, causing Lara to trip and stumble, landing on the floor.

 

More staff members turned their heads to look. ‘Is everything alright, ma’am?’ A nurse asked Sam, but she brushed her off.

 

Jonah turned towards Lara, pulling her up suddenly. ‘I don’t want you coming back here. Ever.’

 

Marching towards the exit, Jonah left promptly - before any of the hospital staff could start questioning him. Lara turned to give one last feeble glance at Sam, before going through the doors behind him.

 

Since then, neither of them had come back.

  



	8. 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say that I'm so thankful for everyone's support on this fic! All the kudos and comments mean so much to me and I really appreciate everyone who's been so amazing and is still sticking around. Even if I don't reply to your comment, I just want you to know I do read them and it really does make me so happy and motivate me to keep writing. Thank you so much!

It had been a week since the incident. Still no sign of Lara, or even Jonah for that matter. Sam had grown increasingly worried - her attempts to call Lara hadn’t worked. Each call had gone straight through to voicemail.

 

Sam stopped trying to phone her. She figured that if she kept trying to call, Jonah might change her number altogether - and then there would really be no easy way to try contact Lara. 

 

But one thing kept playing on Sam’s mind constantly whenever she thought about what happened;  _ why hadn’t Lara fought back _ ?

 

Lara was so tough; both physically and emotionally. She had only ever revealed her true feelings to two people - one being Roth, and the other one Sam. But if she ever wasn’t happy with the way someone was treating her, she sure as hell would be quick to tell them.

 

So why wasn’t she standing up to Jonah? Was she afraid he’d hurt her more?

 

What could Jonah be doing to make Lara  _ afraid _ ? After she’d been through the tortures of Yamatai, he’d have to be doing something extremely twisted to truly frighten Lara.

 

Trying to get to the bottom of all of this made Sam’s head spin. Would she ever find out the truth?

 

Would she ever find out if Lara did love her back?

 

She had to. Sam had been getting better for the most part; and Lara hadn’t stopped her when Sam was about to ask how she truly felt. 

 

But why had she looked so shifty? Sam couldn’t bear any of this. She almost wanted to be fatally ill again, just so she would have the comfort that she wouldn’t have much longer to think about it.

 

However, the thought of Lara was what kept her going each day, and still motivated her to get up in the mornings. 

 

She would find out what was going on. And this time, she’d be the one to save Lara.

 

The curtains were opened, and in came a nurse. Kara.

 

‘Hey there, Sam! Been a while since I’ve come to check up on you.’ The nurse smiled at her, and Sam could only offer a meek one in return.

 

Kara shuffled through Sam’s records, glancing at the monitors and writing some notes down. After a few minutes, she turned to look at Sam - with a huge grin on her face.

 

‘Wow, Sam. You’re practically better!’ Kara beamed, expecting to receive an elated response from her patient. ‘You’ll be able to be discharged today, in fact. Isn’t that great news?’

 

Sam shrugged. She’d given up smiling. Not with all that was on her mind.

 

‘Hey, what’s wrong now?’ Kara came over and sat in the chair next to Sam. 

 

‘Do you know what this means? The person you love...likes you back! We sure as hell ain’t done anything to those lungs of yours, and you even told us to take you off the death-delaying medicine. That person loves you! You’re  _ free _ , Sam.’

 

‘Yeah...but they’re not.’ Sam mumbled, unsure if now was a good time to bring up her concerns.

 

‘Sorry...what did you say?’ Kara inquired, slightly confused.

 

‘I think the person who loves me is trapped in another relationship,’ Sam continued. ‘We can’t be together until they get out of it.’

 

Kara shrugged, not realising what she truly meant. ‘Well, can’t you have a conversation with them? If they love you, sure enough they’d be willing to leave their current partner.’

 

‘No,’ Sam shook her head. ‘It’s not that. I...I think they’re in an abusive relationship.’

 

Silence.

 

Sam wished she hadn’t spoken. What would happen now? Would they send the police to Jonah’s house and arrest him? Would they tell him beforehand but therefore giving him time to hurt Lara more? Would they tell him who told so he’d be on a revenge hunt when he got out of prison?

 

Would anything happen at all?

 

‘An abusive relationship?’ Kara spoke softly. ‘Have you been able to contact them?’

 

Sam shook her head again. ‘I tried calling, but now they all just go straight to voicemail. I’m starting to get really worried. Something happened a week ago and ever since they haven’t been in touch.’ Her voice grew shaky and she fought to stop tears streaming down her face. Now was not an ideal time for a breakdown.

 

Within the next ten minutes, Sam had told everything she knew to Kara - who was desperately making notes on the back of a sheet of paper.

 

‘I’m scared, Kara - I don’t know what’s going on. Even worse, what could happen.’

 

‘It’s going to be okay, Sam. I’ll tell the right people immediately; we’ll get her out of there before you know it.’ Kara stood up, ready to go.

 

She turned to leave as Sam sank back into her bed (that she admittedly, didn’t need as much anymore). ‘Wait, Kara!’ Sam called out.

 

The nurse turned around. ‘Was there something else you needed?’

 

‘Are...are you sure she can be saved?’ 

 

Kara looked straight at Sam before answering. 

 

‘We’ll do everything we can.’

 


End file.
